Seeing Green

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Pinch Proof St. Patricks Day Tee or Onsie
by lulustiles

Organic Mineral Eyeshadow
Shimmer Green
by faceitcosmetics

Garden Herbs Loofah
Aloe and Olive Oil Bar
by Whimsywares

Absinthe - 80 yrds
by WoolyHands

St. Patricks Day Jabot
by FrockTarts

Crafting for a Cause

Blog by AREtsy member: JenuineMemories

Photos courtesy of JenuineMemories.
Hope Vintage-Look Scrapbook

As a single person, who still has a wonderful day job as a teacher, my crafting is my "hobby". Note: that should read escape, pamper, alone time, etc.  So more often than not my scrapbooking/ cardmaking hobby has evolved into a self-loving expression of and to myself. And my crowded studio (my spare bedroom) and my shrinking wallet reflect that I love Jen A LOT. Which is fine, but lately I have had the urge to give back. 

So I was pleased to find in a recent etsy email, a link to Crafting It Forward. From there I found a link to where to donate. The first thing that caught my eye was Operation Write Home. 

This allows card crafters like myself to send cards for the troops to write home on. An important thing to remember is that these are for our military men and women to write home to their families. They have a place where you can send hero cards. They have some rules and regulations, so read over them carefully. In my opinion, I can't think of a better way to give back than to make it easier for a service man or woman to write home. They really want "blank inside" cards and cards that can be used year round. I sent over some of my Sock monkey cards. 

I hope that some quirky service man or woman will write home to their significant other or child using my cards. That would make my day and make me feel just a teeny bit less selfish.

Happy Crafting!

- Jennifer 

@JenuineMemories on Etsy

Other inspire ideas to craft for a cause:

• Love Letters: Random Cards of Kindness  Founded and run by a Florida teenager, Love Letters “creates positive and inspirational homemade cards for children with life-threatening illnesses.”
• Life Books  General effort to create scrapbooks for kids in foster homes.
• Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy

Thank you so much Jennifer for taking the time to share your story and this inspiring idea!  Any other blog ideas?  We would love to hear from you!  Email us at AREtsy@gmail.com.

AREtsy Featured Shop: Primal Painter

Modern Abstract Painting Wall Sculpture Photos Courtesy of Primal Painter Describe yourself in 5 words: I'm an artsy, creative, spiritual, nature loving, color loving, cartoon loving, dreamer type. Tell us a little bit about your shop. Right now my shop is concentrated on geometric colorful abstract wall sculptures, although I'm also moving in the direction of abstract figurative wall sculpture and 3D chakra and aura interpretations intended for healing purposes. http://primalpainter.etsy.com How did you become interested or involved in your craft or art? I've always been defined as an artist, even as a young child, so I guess making art is just a natural way of being for me. Modern Abstract Art Painting Wall Sculptures:   Red Diamond, Spiral Blue and Modern Art How did you find Etsy? I googled online marketing opportunities for artists When you made your first sell...what did you REALLY do? LOL, I did some crazy dance with lots of hair tossing and shakin' that thang What is one thing that you have learned through your experience as an Etsy member that has impacted you as a person? There's a sense of freedom with Etsy. It seems to have broken down some fear barriers about trying something artistically new.  It's opened up the creative flow and natural evolution that artists thrive on. Has another shop, blogger or website inspired you or helped to shape your vision for your own shop (like a muse)? No one shop in particular has influenced me in terms of my own shop appearance, but there are dozens and dozens of shops that I admire and would like to achieve their level of professionalism and performance. Wall Sculpture 3D Art Mirror Green Violet Starburst Do you promote your shop in any way? Please, share! Oh gosh, I wish I had some magic way to promote! I haven't been involved in online marketing for very long, so I still have alot to learn. Possibilities include: making treasuries, having a blog, getting involved with teams and the forums, facebook page, twitter, and art shows (finish the following sentence) This year I would like to accomplish... feeling complete creative fulfillment and financial security from my etsy shop and other online venues each and every month. Finally, just for fun, list 5 of your favorite movies, 5 of your favorite bands and your most favorite thing in the world to eat! Movies:  1) Avatar  2) Alice in Wonderland (Johnny Depp)  3) Lord of the Rings Trilogy  4) Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy  5) Ice Age Bands:  1) Nickleback  2) Metallica  3) 3 Doors Down  4) Fuel  5) Saliva Favorite thing to eat is:  As a bad girl: Dove Dark Chocolate.  As a good girl: sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes fresh off the vine in my garden..yummy! What's one thing you would do to improve Etsy for sellers? I think it would be cool if when an item gets, say 5 hearts, it automatically gets moved to the first page of its category without having to relist. A reward system for love, right on!